New Delhi, Oct 16: The row over BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s allegation that TMC’s Mahua Moitra took “bribes” to ask questions in the House intensified on Monday with senior BJP leaders terming it as a “severe blow to the dignity of Parliament” and Moitra asserting that the charges were based on a “jilted ex’s lies”.
Also on Monday, the embattled Adani Group latched on Dubey’s complaint to attack Moitra, who has been at the forefront of criticising the conglomerate ever since Hindenburg alleged fraud, saying groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm its name and market standing.
Dubey on Sunday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accusing the Trinamool Congress MP of taking bribes for raising questions in Parliament to “protect the interest of a business group and claimed that advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai had “shared irrefutable evidence of bribes exchanged” between Moitra and Darshan Hiranandani. Dubey also wrote to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging him to investigate the IP addresses of Moitra’s log-in credentials for the House.
The Hiranandani Group has said there is “no merit” in the allegations.
In her reply to Dubey’s complaint to Vaishnaw, Moitra said,”all parliamentary work of MPs done by PAs, assistants, interns, large teams” and urged the minister to release details of location and login details of all MPs with Call Detail Records. “Please release info on training given to staff to login,” she said but did not elaborate any further.
Union minister Giriraj Singh lauded Dubey as the best parliamentarian who enjoys “credibility”, suggesting allegations levelled by him are credible while BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh alleged that Moitra has dealt a “severe blow to the dignity of Parliament” and called for a high-powered committee probe to ensure stringent action against the guilty.
“This is a big crime,” he said. (PTI)
